On May 27, 2011, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, through his Director of State Operations, transmitted a brief memorandum to Joseph Martens, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ("NYSDEC"), stating, in sum and substance, that the NYSDEC should incorporate into its ongoing review of the potential environmental impacts of horizontal drilling in New York State some consideration of the recent natural gas well blowout in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, including recommending a site visit by NYSDEC personnel. 

Perhaps more significantly, the May 27 memorandum requests that the NYSDEC's Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement ("SGEIS") on horizontal drilling be "completed for issuance" by July 1, 2011.  Recent reports from NYSDEC had indicated that the SGEIS may not be ready for release until the early Fall, 2011, so the new July 1 deadline established by the May 27 memorandum should advance that schedule.